Naimisharanya temple to establish Dharma. But, Vrittasur, a demon was an obstacle. So, Dadhichi donated his bones to make a weapon for killing the demon.
Vishnu killed Durjaya & his gang of demons. He also destroyed Gayasura. His body fell in three places Gaya in Bihar, Naimisharayan Temple, and at Badrinath.
Brahmo Namo Maya Chakra fell here, so the place is also called Naimisharanya. Here, Nemi means the outer surface of a Chakra.
The place of Naimisharanya temple is very old. Satrupa and Swayambhuva performed penance here. They performed penance for 2300 years to have Lord Narayan as his son. Lord Rama performed Ashawamedh Yagna here. Ved Vyasa put together the 6 Shastras, 18 Puranas & 4 Vedas at this place. The Pandavas & Lord Balaram also visited this place. Tulsidas penned Rama Charita Manas here itself.
Sage Narada is believed to have searched for the best theertha (water body) in three worlds. He went to Kailasa, the abode of Shiva, then to Parkadal(Kshir Sagar), the abode of Vishnu and finally landed in the water body in the Naimisha Forest. The central deity is also believed to be worshipped by Sudharma and devas (celestial deities).Indra, the king of the devas, was once driven out of devaloka by an asura named Vritra. The asura was the recipient of a boon whereby he could not be killed by any weapon that was known till the date of his receiving the boon and additionally that no weapon made of wood or metal could harm him. Indra, who lost all hope of recovering his kingdom went to seek the aid of Vishnu. Vishnu revealed to Indra that only the weapon made from the bones of the sage Dadhichi would defeat Vritra. Indra and the other devas therefore approached the sage, whom Indra had once beheaded, and asked him for his aid in defeating Vritra. Dadhichi acceded to the devas' request but said that he wished that he had time to go on a pilgrimage to all the holy rivers before he gave up his life for them. Indra then brought together all the waters of the holy rivers to Naimisaranya, thereby allowing the sage to have his wish fulfilled without a further loss of time. Dadhichi is then said to have given up his life by the art of yoga after which the devas fashioned the Vajrayudha from his spine. This weapon was then used to defeat the asura, allowing Indra to reclaim his place as the king of devaloka.
As told in another legend, when sages were planning to perform penance, Brahma, the god of creation, brought out a ring from darba grass. He asked the sages to perform penance at the place where the ring fell, which is believed to be Naimisaranya. The sages performed penance and at the end of it, Vishnu appeared to the sages and accepted their offerings. It is believed that the forest still has Vishnu and all sages as trees.
With the start of the universe, 88,000 Rishis went to Sri Brahma Deva and prayed him with the notion to know the ideal place for uninterrupted meditation and also about a place which will give moksha / mukti (divine liberation) from all the difficulties and sins.
All the Rishis also enquired about a place where one can get divine jnana / knowledge and for performing adhyatmika / spiritual rites for the prosperity of the humanity.
After hearing the prayers of all the Rishis, Sri Brahma Deva told them that he will send his disc (called Manomaya Chakra) and it will direct them to the sacred spot.
Sri Brahma Deva also informed them that wherever its axis will fall, that particular location will be the focal point of their sacred place for meditation.
Having said this, Sri Brahma Deva released his Manomaya Chakra and all the Saints followed its path.
After completing many revolutions around the universe, finally the Manomaya Chakra settled at a deserted place and addressed the Rishis that, this place which is dwelled on the banks of AdiGanga Gomati is free from all sins and calamities.
Moreover, any deed performed on this holy place will give divine and beneficial results.There is no other divine place, as this Naimisharanya in this entire world.
After saying this, the Manomaya Chakra fell into the Yagyashala.Due to Manomaya Chakra’s powerful fall with thunderous speed, the underworlds broke down and huge gushes of water sprouted from underneath.Sri Brahma Deva requested Sri Adishakti (divine power) Goddess Sri Lalita Devi, to stop the “Brahma Manomaya Chakra”.The divine power of Sri Adishakti stopped that chakra and thus settled at this place as Lingadhaarini (Linga + Dhaarini).From that time, this place where the axis of Brahma Manomaya Chakra (Nemi) fell surrounded by the forest came to be known as Nemisharanya or Naimisharanya, and it became the central place for performing meditation by all the Rishis.The location where the Chakra struck the earth and water spring came out became known as Chakra Teertha.Chakra Teertha is said to be the center of the universe.It is said that the large sweet-water spring that marks the location of Chakra-Teertha has no bottom end.Even the British wanted to disprove this and wanted to make this as mythology in the history, and thus they brought a very long cable and attempted to find the bottom. After more than 1000 meters they ran out of cable and gave up and completely failed in this attempt.If someone bathe in Chakra Teertha and make an offering to the presiding deity, that is, Sri Lalita Devi, on a Purmina (full Moon) and / or Amavasya (new Moon) day that falls on a Monday, that person will wash away all the sins committed in a lifetime.Sri Shakti Peetha is situated here and Goddess Sri Lalita Devi is being worshipped here as the female presiding deity of Naimisharanya.Chakra Teertha is the most holiest place and will destroy all kinds of sins and is the best among all the Teerthas.
It is said that by taking bath in Chakra Teertha, Graha Peeda (गृह पीड) will vanish and the sins of 10 earlier generations and 10 future generations will also completely vanish.
This place is ideal to provide complete satisfaction and liberation to the ancestors.
Mahatmya (Greatness) of Naimishaaranya
Almost all puranas very clearly talks about Naimisharanya and its significance & importance.
Chakra Theertham which is associated with the temple.This place has also been visited by Sankaracharya and the famous poet, Surdas resided here. Sage Suta (or Maharshi Suta), the author of 18 puranas is believed to have lived here and presented his sayings to the sages. The central deity is believed to have presided over the forest and hence the puja (rituals) are done to the forest.
The temple is counted as one of the eight temples of Vishnu that self-manifested and is classified as Swayamvyakta Kshetra.(Seven other temples in the line are Srirangam Ranganathaswamy temple, Bhu Varaha Swamy temple, Tirumala Venkateswara Temple, and Vanamamalai Perumal Temple in South India and Saligrama, Pushkar and Badrinath Temple in North India). Naimisaranya temple is revered in Nalayira Divya Prabandham, the 7th–9th century Vaishnava canon, by Thirumangai Azhwar in ten hymns. The temple is classified as a divyadesam, the 108 Vishnu temples that are revered in the Vaishnava canon.